Top 5 Foods For Fat Loss
What to eat to lose fat | 5 fat loss foods | Recommendations
Hunger, cravings, and low energy all spring to mind when you think of fat loss. But fat loss can be made easy through the right food choices.
Walk into any shop or supermarket and you’ll be greeted with the latest chocolates and desserts. It’s only October and you can already buy mince pies.
When you’re surrounded by and constantly reminded of all the “unhealthy” dopamine-fueling options, being satisfied will enable you to ignore the adverts and stay on track with your fat loss goals.
This article first looks at the Satiety Index List before moving on to my recommendations.
How do you lose fat?
There’s a difference between losing weight and losing fat.
To lose weight, you need to be in a calorie deficit (eat less and move more). It doesn’t matter what you eat or what you do, as long as you stay in a calorie deficit, you’ll lose weight.
Losing fat is a little more tricky. To lose fat, you need to be in a calorie deficit, but you also need to do intense resistance training and optimize the foods you eat to fuel workouts and speed up recovery.
What should you eat to lose fat?
Unfortunately, there aren’t any magical foods that readily burn fat.
But there are foods that can make your fat loss journey easier.
These foods must be nutrient-dense, in both macros and micros, but also low in calorie density. Helping you hit your daily macros and fuel workouts/recovery whilst also keeping you satiated.
Our main focus today is on the latter, foods that help keep you full and on track.
What foods are the most satisfying?
To test which common foods are satisfying, a small study on 11 to 13 people was conducted at the University of Sydney.
The Satiety Index was developed in the study which tested the satisfaction levels of 38 foods on the small group of people. The index compares the satisfaction rating of a food in comparison to white bread.
The foods were then ordered into a list (called the Satiety Index List) from the most to least satisfying. Looking at the list, you’ll find some of the most satisfying foods are either high in water content, fiber, or protein.
5 foods for fat loss
Here are 5 foods from the Satiety Index List that were given a high rating by the participants of the study, and also what I tend to eat whilst in a “cut”.
Potatoes
100 grams of potatoes contains 73 calories, 1.8 grams of protein, 16 grams of carbs, and 0.26 grams of fat.
Out of the 38 foods tested in the study, potatoes scored the highest in satisfaction. That should come as no surprise since they are 80% water and also high in fiber (13.8 grams per 100 grams).
It is also my go-to source of carbohydrates, although I usually opt for sweet potatoes (which share a similar nutritional profile).
Oats
100 grams of oats contains 382 calories, 13.5 grams of protein, 68.7 grams of carbs, and 5.89 grams of fat.
In comparison to 100 grams of potatoes, the calories in oats may seem like a lot. But remember that oats are usually combined with milk or water to make porridge, which is highly satiating.
It’s a rare day for me to go without oats either as porridge or in a shake. You can combine it with protein powder to satisfy that sweet tooth too.
Cod
100 grams of cod contains 87 calories, 19.3 grams of protein, 0 grams of carbs, and 0.5 grams of fat.
High on the Satiety Index List is Ling fish, but I’ve never heard of it. A more available fish with a similar macronutrient profile is cod. It shares a similarity with potatoes in that it is also 80% water.
When it comes to seafood, there is an array of lean options you can go for when you get bored of the typical chicken breast. Cod is just one extremely lean choice.
Eggs
100 grams of egg contains 149 calories, 12.24 grams of protein, 1.15 grams of carbs, and 10.6 grams of fat.
Although eggs aren’t a lean source of protein, they are still filling. This may be due to their high micronutrient content.
Deeper into a “cut” I usually swap whole eggs for egg whites as they are practically just protein and water.
Oranges
100 grams of oranges contain 50 calories, 0.92 grams of protein, 11.78 grams of carbs, and 0.14 grams of fat.
At only 50 calories per 100 grams, oranges are the lowest-calorie food on this list.
If you’re looking for a sweet snack between meals, swap the chocolate for oranges and stay on track with your fat loss goals. Think: 1 chocolate bar or 4 oranges?
Recommendations
Prioritizing high-volume foods should be a priority whilst trying to lose fat, but not the priority.
Satiety is more complex than what simply takes up the most space in your stomach. If it was that simple, I’d eat lettuce and cucumber all day, and fat loss would be a breeze.
To a certain extent, you’ll have to give in to your cravings.
Cravings are not all bad and there are different types. Sometimes your body is trying to tell you what food it needs.
Yes, you will have to restrict certain foods whilst trying to lose fat. But you can be flexible with it.
That’s why you should avoid strict meal plans and follow, to the tee, what someone else eats. We all have our own habits and eating preferences.
Takeaway
Learning to listen to your body’s cues when trying to lose fat will promote consistency.
Mix high-volume foods with the foods that you enjoy and you won’t even feel like you’re on a “diet”.
Free-styling your nutrition whilst doing the above may bring some success at first, but eventually, you will need to adopt a more technical approach.
For faster, more predictable results, you should set daily calorie and macro goals. Learn how by reading Cutting Concepts.
Sources
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7498104/
